Jez Corden: Multiple aquisitions by microsoft xbox failed/stopped because of ABK

Im not one to spoil anyone's fun but who tf is this and why should I care about this opinion?


Also acquisitions should at least make sense, why would Microsoft buy Sega or Square Enix when they have an audience that just doesn't want Japanese games? ABK made sense because it fit their demographic of buyers perfectly.
 
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Bernoulli said:
it starts at 41:50
he says multiple aquisitions that fans would have loved fell through because of ABK

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Probably the western division of Square. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh ! This really pisses me off, you had to go for the big didn't you Microsoft. Since you were going to blow a shit ton of money on ABK, go offer Embracer whatever they want for Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Monteal. While your at it grab Focus Home and then take a break.
 
All that shit Embracer bought was there waiting for MS to outbid them. Gotta wonder about Xbox management decisions some times.
 
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Sega or Square Enix western division probably. If the ABK deal is off and they pivot to Sega that will make me happy because i won't have to pay for Jet set Radio, Persona 6, persona 3 remake and Yakuza 8.
 
CatLady said:
Probably the western division of Square. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh ! This really pisses me off, you had to go for the big didn't you Microsoft. Since you were going to blow a shit ton of money on ABK, go offer Embracer whatever they want for Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Monteal. While your at it grab Focus Home and then take a break.
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I was actually a bit disappointing that they didn't go after WB and the Western SE studios when the ABK deal was first announced. Just because I am personally more interested in their output. Although WB studios hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire as of late.

But these kind of done deals would have been a lot safer and would not have required beating themselves up to get done (which was going to be a bit of a detriment even if ABK passed these regulators by the deadline).

But, I agree with @ Puscifer Puscifer that ABK just fit perfectly with Xbox players and would have been a way to avoid any potential shenanigans with Sony there.

Obviously, 20/20 hindsight and all that. MS gaming really went for it and is willing to invest $70b on the gaming division, which shows a strong commitment at least.
 
$300m was the price Embracer paid for CD, Eidos Montreal and the Tomb Raider IP (alongside 50 others).

$300m.

This was only 11 months ago.

$300m absolutely blows my mind. This is tomb raider for fucks sake! And two quality studios.
 
Kenshin775 said:
Sega or Square Enix western division probably. If the ABK deal is off and they pivot to Sega that will make me happy because i won't have to pay for Jet set Radio, Persona 6, persona 3 remake and Yakuza 8.
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Sega is protected in Japan, a foreign company buying Sega is extremely unlikely.
 
They've bought quite a few studios already though and those studios should start to keep us eating good on GP as it is though (which does help to wash out the taste of all the recent crow, LOL).
 
As they say, don't chew what you can't eat.

MS tried to eat ABK without adequate plate and got choked in the process.

They missed out Bungie because it was expensive, just for them to get by Sony for 3b. MS wasted 3B to activision.
 
Acquisitions are inevitable, I just hope MS or any other company does it the right way. Buying studios that makes sense, keeping their style/culture and staff.
 
Why people cheer on acquisitions, particularly acquisitions for which the buyer has had minimal prior investment or involvement with, is beyond me. Consolidation is a rot.
 
Kenshin775 said:
Sega or Square Enix western division probably. If the ABK deal is off and they pivot to Sega that will make me happy because i won't have to pay for Jet set Radio, Persona 6, persona 3 remake and Yakuza 8.
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Yes you will, remember how they tried to double Xbox Live? Gamepass is next!
 
feynoob said:
As they say, don't chew what you can't eat.

MS tried to eat ABK without adequate plate and got choked in the process.

They missed out Bungie because it was expensive, just for them to get by Sony for 3b. MS wasted 3B to activision.
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I doubt Bungie + MS would have worked over the long term. I have serious doubts about the Sony + Bungie deal as it is. That was probably better left to someone else.
 
As a gamer I definitely would rather crystal dynamics/eidos (throw is Asobo) way way before Activision but from a business side, Activision is a gold mine if it would have went through.
feynoob said:
They missed out Bungie because it was expensive, just for them to get by Sony for 3b. MS wasted 3B to activision.
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They didn't want Bungie. Why would they let Bungie go free just to buy them again.
 
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I already said this would happen in the other thread. Xbox will be stripped of funding because this deal fell through. CMA's decision will end up damaging the entire video games industry.

They literally spent almost 2 years working on this deal. Promoting the deal. Word of mouth spread. And now the deal is dead. 2 years of stagnation in preparation for some momentum from this deal and now it's negative momentum. Why bother with more acquisitions if the government's are just going to step in and tear them to shreds if you try to go big.
 
Banjo64 said:
$300m was the price Embracer paid for CD, Eidos Montreal and the Tomb Raider IP (alongside 50 others).

$300m.

This was only 11 months ago.

$300m absolutely blows my mind. This is tomb raider for fucks sake! And two quality studios.
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Quite possibly the biggest steal in gaming history.

jm89 said:
Is there a list of these companies? I thought it'd be more companies like toyota, sony and nintendo.
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There is but it's a file you have to download and for some reason I've never been able to get it to work. I did see on Reddit someone had looked over the file and said the only major gaming companies not on the list were Capcom and Square Enix. All other major gaming companies are protected to where only a maximum of 33% can be owned by a foreign entity. With Nintendo and Sony, it's even stricter.


Happy hunting, sir. I don't feel like looking for it again. lol
 
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Chatgpt has interesting take about this.

"It's possible that regulators could raise concerns about potential monopoly issues if Xbox/Microsoft were to acquire large gaming companies or a significant number of studios. However, it's worth noting that mergers and acquisitions in the gaming industry are not uncommon and have been approved by regulators in the past.

That being said, if Xbox/Microsoft wanted to avoid potential regulatory concerns, they could consider acquiring smaller studios rather than larger gaming companies. By acquiring smaller studios, Xbox/Microsoft could still increase their portfolio and gain access to new talent and expertise without raising the same level of antitrust concerns. Additionally, they could focus on acquiring studios that specialize in different genres or have unique strengths, rather than acquiring studios that are direct competitors to other studios they already own.

Another option could be for Xbox/Microsoft to form partnerships with other gaming companies or studios. This could allow them to collaborate on games or gain access to exclusive content without acquiring the company outright.

Ultimately, any potential acquisitions would need to be carefully considered by Xbox/Microsoft to ensure that they align with their overall strategy and do not raise significant regulatory concerns."
 
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GhostNTheBashShell said:
Im not one to spoil anyone's fun but who tf is this and why should I care about this opinion?


Also acquisitions should at least make sense, why would Microsoft buy Sega or Square Enix when they have an audience that just doesn't want Japanese games? ABK made sense because it fit their demographic of buyers perfectly.
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You would automatically get attention from people who until now only had a Playstation because of the Japanese games. And why wouldn't Xbox players want Japanese games?

Just because there are almost no Japanese games there yet, doesn't mean people don't want them. You don't want to supply your console only with Halo and Gears of War. People need variety.
 
DaGwaphics said:
I doubt Bungie + MS would have worked over the long term. I have serious doubts about the Sony + Bungie deal as it is. That was probably better left to someone else.
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Destiny 2 is cash cow game.
It's a mistake to leave studio like that.

Look at genshin impact.
 
GhostNTheBashShell said:
Im not one to spoil anyone's fun but who tf is this and why should I care about this opinion?


Also acquisitions should at least make sense, why would Microsoft buy Sega or Square Enix when they have an audience that just doesn't want Japanese games? ABK made sense because it fit their demographic of buyers perfectly.
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to draw another audience ?
 
envyzeal said:
There is and it's a huge list. Gamingwise, almost every big studio is protected as far as I remember: Capcom, Sega, Square Enix, Koei Tecmo, Bandai Namco, Kadokawa...it's not that they're off limits, but it has some extra bureaucracy steps.
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Not just that, a national buyer will always have priority, so a Japanese company facing a foreign takeover can always arrange to be bought by a Japanese company if there is one interested, and in Japan that is likely to happen.
 
zomboden said:
I already said this would happen in the other thread. Xbox will be stripped of funding because this deal fell through. CMA's decision will end up damaging the entire video games industry.

They literally spent almost 2 years working on this deal. Promoting the deal. Word of mouth spread. And now the deal is dead. 2 years of stagnation in preparation for some momentum from this deal and now it's negative momentum. Why bother with more acquisitions if the government's are just going to step in and tear them to shreds if you try to go big.
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Well, you just don't try to go too big. Smaller investments could result in more than the sum of their parts too, if the management structures of the studios are sound. If the management is good they can spin the studios up quite a bit after purchase (increase the number of teams/projects that can work independently, etc.).
 
CatLady said:
Probably the western division of Square. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh ! This really pisses me off, you had to go for the big didn't you Microsoft. Since you were going to blow a shit ton of money on ABK, go offer Embracer whatever they want for Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Monteal. While your at it grab Focus Home and then take a break.
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They wanted their own Uncharted (reason given for Tomb Raider timed thing) and they could've had the TR IP and CD for a good price.
damn-dammit.gif
 
DaGwaphics said:
Well, you just don't try to go too big. Smaller investments could result in more than the sum of their parts too, if the management structures of the studios are sound. If the management is good they can spin the studios up quite a bit after purchase (increase the number of teams/projects that can work independently, etc.).
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Yep. Sony's doing it right. Buying smaller/medium sized studios and organically growing them. And also focusing on buying studios that are already partnered and familiar with how PlayStation operates. See how well the studios ideas pan out and expand the studio if they look successful.

But I think this acquisition was Microsoft's way of competing against PlayStation this gen. They had their eggs in this basket. And now there's a lack of faith among the community and probably internally because now what do they do? Their funds were tied up for too long. They couldn't aggressively expand/acquire and make deals while they were under regulator supervision.
 
ABK made sense business wise but potentially missing out on Crystal and Eidos with a bunch of IP's for such a cheap price is so disappointing since I don't care about ABK.
 
zomboden said:
Yep. Sony's doing it right.
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Easy to say that when you have like 60-70% worldwide marketshare in gaming and more than 70-80% in a lot of countries :messenger_tears_of_joy:

Always amazed how people ask Xbox compete in a way that dominating market leader is competing. By the same logic I can always say that Sony should try and buy publishers, because Microsoft can afford to do. But then it becomes "unfair" as Sony has less money :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
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peter42O said:
ABK made sense business wise but potentially missing out on Crystal and Eidos with a bunch of IP's for such a cheap price is so disappointing since I don't care about ABK.
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I kind wanted ABK deal to go through, specially if it meant that MS would stay away from acquisitions for a good while (at least big ones)
 
Meh. Why does Microsoft constantly feel the need to acquire instead of develop? It reminds me so much of those sports teams bewildered that they can't get a championship even though they spent a ton of money acquiring high priced talent from other teams. Sure it takes time to develop a champion organically, but part of developing it isn't just about names and talent. It's about creating an environment where champions can succeed. Once you have the culture and process of success nailed down you can then spend on the high priced talent because they will thrive instead of flounder in mediocrity.
 
Microsoft should stop trying to go for the silver bullet and just actually put in the work. You don't have to be terribly organic in your growth but it's obvious what you're trying to do when you buy big publishers. Just do what you did prior to your attempted publisher spree. Buy smaller companies you can grow over time that fit your strategy. Assuming you have one beyond, "Let's spend money". Work with upstart studios and grow a relationship over time. No, Microsoft. That doesn't mean force them to make Day 1 GamePass titles. Work on your goddamn management in the meantime and fire these useless fucks long before they have a chance to ruin your shit. Bonnie Ross should have been gone 5 years sooner. Greenberg should be a shift manager at McDonald's, not your general marketing manager.
 
Abriael_GN said:
They may simply not want to be acquired.

Asobo has secured 10 years (7 left now) of investment and guaranteed work from Microsoft. It stands to reason that they'd like to keep it that way.
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That's a key point that a lot of people fail to take into consideration. Not every company has a "for sale" sign outside.
 
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